Alibaba said to postpone IPO roadshow

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is pushing back the start of investor meetings for its initial public offering by about a week to answer questions posed by US regulators, Bloomberg News reported, citing an unnamed source.

The Chinese e-commerce giant, which earlier planned to start marketing the shares this week, now expects the meetings to begin in the week of Sept. 8, the source said, adding that pricing will be set on Sept. 18 and trading will start the following day.

The Hangzhou-based company has been in discussions with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as it seeks regulatory approval of its prospectus.

“There shouldn’t be any obstacles for proceeding with the IPO,” Li Muzhi, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Arete Research Service LLP, was quoted as saying. “This just gives them a bit more time.”

Alibaba is expected to raise as much as US$20 billion from the share sale, making it the biggest in US history, the report said.

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